


beyond admiration

by moonblair



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Crushes, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Romance, Short Story, Sweet, They are so cute, fluff and soft but there is a heated scene, its for the aesthetic, just read it, lowercase intended!, posted this on wattpad too, they just make-out don't worry, this ship is so underrated what, woohwa unite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28161156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblair/pseuds/moonblair
Summary: ATEEZwooyoung/seonghwawooyoung was very convinced that his love for his hyung, seonghwa, can't go beyond brotherly love. oh was he wrong about that.(available on wattpad as well)
Relationships: Jung Wooyoung/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	beyond admiration

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this is my take on woohwa. i'm sorry if i made any mistake in general. this may not be the best but i've put all my effort on this. 
> 
> so, hope you all enjoy :D

  
**»»**

wooyoung had always admired his hyung, park seonghwa.

he admired his looks, his talents, how he danced and performed on stage, his hardworking self, his determination while practicing a new choreography for their new comebacks. how seonghwa was always the one never giving up and would try even harder day by day. how he also had the skills to pose like a professional model during each of their photoshoots.

and especially, how seonghwa was the type of person who cares a lot about his members and sometimes more than himself.

"wooyoung, are you okay?" seonghwa asked and wooyoung looked up, confused. "is something troubling you? you seem deep in thoughts, that's all." the older added. wooyoung smiled at seonghwa and shook his head. "nothing, i'm fine. i was just thinking about something." he answered. the older nodded and sighed in relief.

"okay, good."

yes, that was the main reason wooyoung had looked up to the older. he always had loved seonghwa as one of the ateez members and the older too loved them all equally. wooyoung was so sure of that.

until one day, wooyoung started feeling weird when he's with him.

it was ateez's practice day and as usual, the eight members of the group had worked their butt's off practicing choreographies to perfection. it's been hours of just dancing and some breaks. until finally, they've finished and were allowed to return to their dorms. "alright, that's all for today!" the leader, hongjoong, shouted in satisfaction while clapping his hands. later, the rest of them clapped as well and all thanked each other for their hard work. "thank you for working hard, everyone! we can go back now!" hongjoong added.

wooyoung was laying on the wooden floor, his breath was still heavy from all that dancing. "yo, san. wanna come?" mingi asked his roommate. "yeah, just wait a minute." san answered and walked towards wooyoung's tired body. "wooyoung, let's leave together." san offered. but wooyoung was too tired to get up now.

kindly, he rejected san's offer and said, "no, you should go first. i'm staying a little longer."

san nodded in understanding. "sure. let's go, mingi." he said to mingi then. wooyoung's roommate, yeosang had told wooyoung that he'll go first and wooyoung was okay with it. he raised his head to look around the dance practice room and noticed most of his members had left. he then saw seonghwa walking up to him with two mineral water bottles and sat on the floor next to his lying body.

"here." seonghwa handed wooyoung the water.

wooyoung sat up lazily and accepted the water. "thanks, seonghwa-hyung." his fingers brushed with the older's and this somehow weirdly made wooyoung's heart flutter. but as fast as the strange feeling came, it went away. wooyoung paid little to no mind at it.

what should he think of it? why should he think of it?

they both sat in silence for a while until wooyoung spoke up. "you were amazing just now, by the way. you improved a lot." he complimented, causing the older to smile. "really? i didn't feel like it." he replied.

"i'm serious. you worked hard before and i can see the improvement in your moves." wooyoung insisted and looked at seonghwa. the older looked back with a smile and said back, "thanks. you were amazing too. i loved how you did some of those moves in your own way, yet it didn't seem off."

again, wooyoung felt his heart flutter.

_okay, what the hell?_

he was confused. seonghwa just complimented him, like usual. he'd done this before and countless times. wooyoung too did the same and it felt natural to compliment each other. so why now that he started to feel strange? and why all of a sudden seonghwa's smile at him began to look more attractive?

though, wooyoung dismissed it already and smiled back at the older. "thanks, hyung."

however, it didn't end there. that night after cleaning themselves and resting for a bit, it's time for their dinner. hongjoong and seonghwa had prepared the food as expected. hongjoong sat next to jongho, yeosang, and san meanwhile at the other side of the table, wooyoung sat with yunho, mingi, and seonghwa who's next to him. the four members ate peacefully and soon enough got engaged in a conversation.

now, wooyoung was telling one of his funny stories to his members, causing the other seven to burst out laughing. "seriously? that happened?" mingi asked through his loud wheezing.

"oh, lord! i feel bad for laughing!" hongjoong cackled cutely.

"no, no, same!" yunho yelled out. wooyoung grinned widely. he loved seeing his members smiling widely whenever he told them stories. he turned to his right where seonghwa was sitting. the older was still laughing and tried to calm down. their eyes met and wooyoung could have sworn he saw twinkles sparkling in seonghwa's eyes. and suddenly, he felt like he's the happiest seeing the older like that. the laughter died down and hongjoong spoke up, "okay, who's turn is it to do the dishes?" he asked, looking around the table.

"yesterday was my turn, so today should be wooyoung." san said, pointing at the said male.

"oh, yeah. it's my turn." wooyoung nodded after remembering it.

the rest of the members stood up and made their way to the sink. wooyoung waited for a moment so the sink would not be crowded if he joined in as well at the time. then after he saw one by one leaving the sink, wooyoung stood up with a few plates in his hands and made his way to do the dishes. gladly, san helped a little by cleaning the table and brought the dirty plates to the sink. "just put them next to this sink. thanks, san." wooyoung said.

"no problem." san shortly answered with a smile, showing his fine dimples.

"guys, me and mingi are gonna watch some tv shows!" yunho called from the living room. san turned and jogged there in excitement. "i wanna join too!"

not a minute passed by with wooyoung washing the plates, another person joined beside him to help. he looked up and saw seonghwa who's pulling his sleeves up his elbow. "hyung, what are you doing here? it's my turn to do the dishes." wooyoung asked in confusion.

the older smiled kindly. "i know. i'm here to help you. we ate a lot more than before and there are plenty of plates and bowls used. it's kind of not fair for you to do this all alone." he explained. "oh, but i'm fine, really. go join the others in the living room, hyung." wooyoung said but seonghwa insisted on helping. "no, i still want to help. give me that, i'll rinse it for you."

the younger gave in at the older's stubbornness but smiled nevertheless. since the sink was not that huge, they had to stand close to each other and wooyoung felt their arms brushing ever so slightly. not to mention every time he passed each plate to seonghwa, their fingers would always brush. wooyoung felt his heartbeat quickened.

which was very strange for him. there was no reason for that. but he couldn't make it to stop beating so fast for no reason. wooyoung was so deep in thought that his working hands paused and the soapy plate from his left hand fell out of his grasp. it fell into the sink where other plates and bowls were, causing a loud clank noise heard in the kitchen.

"woah, there!" seonghwa said in surprise. wooyoung was brought back to reality and raised his head, confused.

"huh?" he looked down at his hands and realized what happened.

"wooyoung, are you okay? what's wrong?" seonghwa asked worriedly, looking closely at the younger member. wooyoung turned his head to seonghwa and his breath hitched at the proximity of their faces. his heart started to beat harder, shaking his rib cage in return.

seonghwa waved his hand in front of wooyoung. "wooyoung? hey!"

"w-what? oh... nothing." wooyoung breathed deeply and quickly continued the dishes. _dang it, what is wrong with me? and why is my heart is beating dangerously fast? am i sick?_ he thought, panicking. after he was finished, he hurried his way to his room and landed himself face-first on his bed. he groaned into the pillow in frustration as the feeling from earlier still haunting him. "you alright?"

wooyoung heard his roommate, yeosang asking. "yeah, i'm good." he sighed heavily. "wanna talk about it?" the older asked again.

sitting up on the bed, wooyoung contemplated whether he should talk about his weird feelings he experienced earlier or not. "have you ever feel your heart beating faster than it should before?" he ended up asking that.

yeosang glanced at the younger, a bit confused at the sudden topic. but he answered regardless. "yeah, a lot, actually. every time we're on stage and about to perform in front of a big crowd. or, whenever i feel nervous about doing something or if i've done something wrong." wooyoung tried matching yeosang's answer with his situation but without a doubt, it didn't fit. "um, what would you think are the reasons for a fast heartbeat other than that?" wooyoung asked again.

"well, in other circumstances, they are caused by stress and anxiety, or because you've had too much caffeine. or, you might have a heart condition and you reall need to see a doctor," yeosang explained, but wooyoung was still not satisfied with the answers.

"but what if a person doesn't have any of that? what if it was because of something else?" wooyoung asked.

yeosang raised his brows at the younger. "meaning?"

"i mean, what if that person only feels that when they're with another person they admired or looked up to?" wooyoung said, looking as if he's just curious when he's actually in need of an answer, _asap_. yeosang looked at him like it was obvious. "then that person is in love, duh." wooyoung widened his eyes as he stared back at his roommate.

"i-in love?"

the other nodded. "yup. if you feel nervous and your is heart beating fast for no reason when you're with another person, it's obviously because you have feelings for the other. some people don't realize it at first until quite some time. hence, that's the only strong reason for that." that night before sleeping, yeosang's words kept on replaying in wooyoung's mind. _in love? that can't be. i can't possibly like seonghwa-hyung, right?_

wooyoung only admired him as a person he looks up to. like how he's obsessed with park jimin from bts. he once went to a bts fan meeting and he didn't feel his heartbeat quicken when he's with jimin. and it was a recent event, too.

_no, this is not right. everything doesn't add up._

**»»**

"good evening, dearest atinys!" wooyoung greeted as soon as he turned on his vlive on his phone.

it was the following week after wooyoung's assumptions for having feelings for his hyung which was ridiculous, to say. gladly, during that week, he had been so busy with practices and shows to think about that and stressing him out. now, he thought of saying hi to his dear fans by making a short vlive that night. he wanted to do it longer, but tomorrow's schedule prevented him from doing so.

"hello, hi!" wooyoung greeted happily again and saw more comments coming up and the heart counts increasing overwhelmingly. he was sitting on his bed with his back leaning at the headboard, a small desk propped up above his thighs, a tripod was set up on the said desk where his phone was. "can you see me? it's not dark, right? i hope it's not."

wooyoung grinned as he read a few of the comments answering his question. most of them answered that they can see the idol pretty much clear. they talked about a bunch of stuff together, from comeback activities to random things that wooyoung didn't think of talking about.

precisely, his love life. he had seen one comment and read it out loud without realizing it. now, atinys were begun to get interested in the topic, and thus, causing the comment section was flooded with the same kind of questions.

**"tell me your love experience!"**

**"have you had a crush? how about during high school?"**

**"i'm not sure if this is a topic you're comfortable talking about but i'm all ears!"**

wooyoung mentally panicked at himself. how was he supposed to tell the whole world that he never had a crush on someone? was it bad to not have a crush in his life? he hoped not. "i don't know if having a crush is necessary. though, i do prefer having best friends. i can still be happy." he told shortly, not wanting to expose more of that sensitive issue.

the viewers then began mentioning san and yeosang, the two people wooyoung was closest with. like his best friends. they started asking where are they and why are they not joining his vlive. wooyoung understood this because he had noticed how his fans loved them being together.

he knew all along that atinys had been shipping him with either san or yeosang. mostly san, as he wooyoung were the one that made up their ship name called 'woosan'. but they meant it as a best friend name. like a duo. no more, no less. opening his mouth, he answered the big question, "san is probably in the living room with mingi and yunho. yeosang is not with me, though. so, i'm alone here." wooyoung spun the tripod just a little bit to show the dark, empty bedroom of two.

his eyes examined the comments, finding another subject to talk about. he ignored most of the comments that were talking about san this, san that. wooyoung wondered, why can't atinys ask about other members? like the (great) leader hongjoong, seonghwa the oldest, the infamous duo yunho and mingi, or the youngest, (baby) jongho. yes, he's still a baby for them. nobody could say otherwise.

his thoughts drifted back to seonghwa. leaving atinys hanging with his silence, wooyoung seemed to not care about it at the moment. his mind was occupied with the images of his hyung.

he remembered the incident a week ago, how the older had made his heart beating unbelievably at a quick pace. a memory where he was doing the dishes with the older flashed on his mind, specifically when seonghwa's face was close to him, staring at him with his eyes that held the universe. this same thing had occurred numerous times before, considering how touchy and clingy wooyoung is with his members, especially with the oldest- not going to lie because he felt the warmest-, but this particular event had made wooyoung feel some type of way that he'd never imagine.

he soon was brought back to reality and was reminded about the abandoned vlive he had yet to end it. wooyoung moved his eyes to read the comments again and most of the fans were asking why he's been quiet. some were concerned because the screen froze.

"sorry, atinys. no, it's not because of the signal. everything is alright, no worries." wooyoung assured.

and just as he finished saying that, the door to his room opened and closed. he looked up to see his roommate retreating to his bed. "is the vlive still on?"

"yes, it is. why?" wooyoung raised his brow.

yeosang shrugged. "i thought the screen froze. you were not moving for nearly 5 minutes."

"you were watching my vlive?" wooyoung ignored the older's points and glanced at the comment section where atinys were going wild at the presence of yeosang. "i did, only for a while."

"you wanna say hi to them?"

yeosang shook his head no. "nah, i look awful tonight." he looked worn out in wooyoung's opinion. he excused himself to the bathroom then to brush his teeth, leaving wooyoung with atinys to entertain. "it's getting late, guys. i should turn off this live and you all better go to bed. i'll see you guys later, bye!" he waved goodbye to his fans, and seconds after that, he turned off the live broadcast.

his head was again filled with his hyung's pretty face and wooyoung groaned silently at that. he needs a break, god. he felt his throat was dry from all that talking during his vlive, so he left the room and head to the kitchen for some water.

the living room was now completely dark, with the light source only coming from the kitchen. looked like everybody had gone to bed or preparing to go to bed. wooyoung sighed in satisfaction after drinking a full glass of water, not hearing the soft footsteps coming his way.

"you're not asleep yet?"

"oh, shi-"

wooyoung was startled that he spun a 180° full to see the new company. "hyung." it was just seonghwa. he could've sworn he was about to drop that glass he was holding. gee, why is he being so jumpy all of a sudden?

the older held his laugh and mirrored wooyoung's previous action, drinking a glass of water. "no, not yet." wooyoung answered seonghwa's question prior.

"you just finished your vlive?" seonghwa put down his glass and leaned his butt to the counter. wooyoung nodded curtly with a hum. "you know, a video of you just staring into the unknown got viral. even fans from other fandoms thought it was funny." seonghwa told out of the blue.

"really? dang atinys." wooyoung stretched a smile in amusement. well, at least he tried to, knowing the main cause of that to happen was the person standing two feet before him. "yeah, you should see your face, wooyoung." seonghwa fished his sweatpants pocket for his phone and opened the video he found of wooyoung in his vlive earlier. "here, wanna see?" he offered. wooyoung hesitantly walked over to the older and stood next to him, accepting seonghwa's phone and held it in his hands.

he played the short video and felt humiliated at himself. "see, people were saying that it's almost 5 minutes in and you're not responding." seonghwa said lowly and wooyoung sucked his breath when he felt the older's breath brushing on his ear. the taller had his head close to wooyoung to watch the short video as well.

and there it goes again, wooyoung's heart started beating at a crazy pace. even his brain was confused because they hadn't received any data as to why this is happening for the second time.

"i look so funny." wooyoung tried saying to drift his attention to anything but his heartbeat.

"what were you thinking so much about ending up like that, anyway? i saw you like that before." seonghwa asked in a joking manner after receiving his phone back. what is he going to say? "just, nothing too serious." it wasn't the truth.

wooyoung felt the older shift his feet that their thighs caressed together in a split second. and that sent tingles up his body like a jolt. "it looked kind of serious to me. you know you can just tell me, wooyoung." seonghwa muttered softly in concern. wooyoung felt the older staring down at him, waiting for his explanation. wooyoung's eyes were still on the floor, his mind blank.

"or you can tell me later, i'm all ears. but you shouldn't keep it to yourself if it's serious." seonghwa offered again.

wooyoung was feeling bold that night to lift his head and met the older's eyes. his head tilted a bit upwards as seonghwa was slightly taller. did he mention that his heart never slowed its pace since minutes ago? oh, and how loud it's getting that all he could hear is _thump thump thump_? the audacity-

"i..."

he held his breath when seonghwa's face was close to him. and what bothered wooyoung was the fact that the older seemed so relaxed. too relaxed.

"yes?" seonghwa awaited.

the older's intense stare at wooyoung was making his weak to his knees. and then that's when his brain ordered him to yeet out of that situation before anything else. _abort, now!_

"i should go to bed now. goodnight." and wooyoung disappeared into his bedroom, leaving poor seonghwa looking confused and worried. "he's acting weird..." he thought out loud and then smiled a little. _cute._

wooyoung hurriedly shut the door but quietly as to not wake up yeosang. he was panting hard. his thoughts went back to yeosang's words about being in love.

_is this what it feels like? to be in love?_

**»»**

days later...

the eight members group were taking a short break from dance practice. seonghwa was heading to the box on the table at the far corner where hongjoong was at to bring them water bottles. "oh, no." seonghwa heard the leader cursed under his breath.

"something wrong?" seonghwa asked. hongjoong pointed at the empty box.

"we ran out of mineral water." the leader said shortly while thinking. their water dispenser had broken two days ago, so their manager had given them water bottles instead while waiting for the dispenser to be fixed. "i think i saw another unopened box at the back of the van. i can go take it and bring them here." seonghwa suggested, offering himself.

hongjoong nodded slowly then. "sure, but are you okay with it?" he asked, worried because they've been putting a lot of energy during practices and the other six members were seen sprawled on the floor, in need of fuel to refill their empty tank of strength. "i'm fine. everyone else looks more worn out than i am, so it's okay. i'll go now." the taller left the dance practice room then.

"where is seonghwa-hyung going?"

wooyoung heard jongho asked. he lifted his head to see the oldest exiting the room. "we ran out of water drink so he's getting us new ones." hongjoong explained from the table. the rest of them just nodded and hummed in response, too tired to say anything back. the leader made his way to them and landed his butt on the floor. "wait, i forgot." wooyoung looked at him, confused.

"what?"

hongjoong turned his head to look at wooyoung and told him, "he didn't have the keys for the van." tiredly, he sighed, not liking the thought of getting back up and drag himself to the parked van outside.

"where's the key?"

wooyoung asked suddenly which made the leader raised his brows. "i can help give it to him. he must've been outside far enough to walk back here and it would be a waste of time. furthermore, i can help him carry the boxes." wooyoung shrugged.

"the keys are on the table." hongjoong pointed with his fingers and wooyoung hastily got up on his feet. "thanks, by the way."

after retrieving the keys, he jogged his way outside where his hyung might be at, probably cursing at himself for forgetting about the keys. he got outside and saw seonghwa making his way back to the building. wooyoung grinned at this as he made his way to him. "hyung!" he called out and the older looked up. wooyoung tossed him the keys which he effortlessly caught with ease. seonghwa smiled and said, "thank you, wooyoung."

"you're getting old. even the keys you forgot to bring." they were walking towards the van and wooyoung spoke with a teasing tone. seonghwa just rolled his eyes. he's used to this. "stop saying i'm old. our age gap is not that far." he unlocked the van with the keys then.

"you're older than me by 1.7 years,"

"hence, proving my point."

seonghwa went to the back of the van where wooyoung had opened the door. wooyoung just laughed and proceeded to carry the box filled with mineral water bottles, struggling at first at the surprising weight.

"woah–" he used his knee to adjust his posture. seonghwa watched with worry and said, "let me carry it for you. you're still tired from the practice, remember?"

"don't worry, young people are stronger."

seonghwa helped to close the door and locking the van again. he rolled his eyes playfully when the younger smirked widely at him. "stop that nonsense." they both were on their way back to the practice room and seonghwa had opened a bottle to drink, being so thirsty. wooyoung saw this and wanted to drink some too.

"hyung."

"hmm?"

"aaaa,"

seonghwa turned his head at the younger one who got his mouth opened, asking for a drink. he snorted loudly but did as he was told regardless. "here you go." they both paused walking so that seonghwa could help wooyoung drink some water from his bottle. wooyoung drank down nearly emptying the bottle. and then suddenly, out of nowhere, he remembered seonghwa's lips had touched the mouth of the bottle and now, he was drinking from the same spot and–

wooyoung widened his eyes and felt a blush forming on his cheeks.

_an indirect kiss?_

he chocked on the water after that, causing some of them spilled out of his mouth. "yah!" seonghwa pulled away immediately and scanned the younger, cringing (a lot). "what has gotten into you?" wooyoung was coughing and wanted to wipe his mouth but couldn't. thankfully, seonghwa understood the struggle and took the box from his hands away.

"you okay?" seonghwa glanced at wooyoung who nodded in return.

"yeah," his voice was muffled from the back of his hand that's also covering half of his red face. seonghwa frowned for a while then nodded. "be careful next time. geez." they arrived at the dance practice room, finally.

"what took you guys so long?" yunho whined a bit as their other two members arrived with their long-awaited water. they all took one for each and gulped down the liquid.

wooyoung made his way next to san after taking himself a new bottle as well. he felt ashamed to have had that thought cross his mind. he could still feel his cheeks burning. he felt like a creep to think that way of his hyung. what was wrong with him?

_you pervert!_ _stop it!_

he mentally yelled at his brain for making him think like that earlier. without realizing it, his eyes unconsciously wandered around the room in search of seonghwa which was sitting on the couch with mingi. his gaze fell on the older's lips. so well-shaped and seemed so soft. he knew it was since they all were not so shy to give kisses on each other's cheeks before. wooyoung remembered the feeling of that sweet lips planting themselves on his cheeks on his birthday.

without realizing it, he wondered, _what would it feel like if it's on my lips?_

"wooyoung, are you sick?" san asked all of a sudden.

"am i what?"

wooyoung looked at him in confusion. san pointed out and answered, "sick. your face is extremely red."

_shit._

he touched both of his cheeks and noticed how warm it is. he mentally scolded his brain for having unwanted thoughts _twice_ that day. the rest of the members heard san and all turned to look at the second youngest. "yeah, san's right. are you feeling okay, wooyoung-ah?" yeosang asked, his voice had a tint of worry. wooyoung began to panic.

"h-huh? no, i'm fine." he stuttered. _fuck you, brain!_

"you sure? you don't look fine." hongjoong asked again, expecting the younger to be honest and tell him what's wrong so it'll be easier for all of them. "yeah, if you're not feeling well then you can just say so to avoid troubling the others." seonghwa spoke this time.

"don't worry. i'm okay now, seriously." wooyoung couldn't bear to look up at seonghwa. he feared he couldn't control his weird hormones.

on their way back to the dorm, wooyoung sat between san and yeosang in their van. he cuddled close to san who did the same and comforted him. wooyoung felt exhausted. exhausted of everything that happened that day and all that thinking his mind had caused. he cast his eyes at the windows outside to ease his mind.

after all that, he was able to conclude that yes,

he has feelings for his oldest hyung.

and damn is he in trouble.

"woo, hey,"

the said male raised his head upon his name getting called. "mm?" it was san that patted his shoulders, trying to wake him up when he's not even asleep. "we're here."

wooyoung made his way out of the van slowly, following san. he walked with him side by side towards their place. "woo," the said male just hummed at san again in return. "wooyoung-ah, look at me." san stopped him by his arm. wooyoung grunted but looked up nonetheless.

"are you really not sick?" san had to make sure. "if you don't want the others to know, then just tell me."

"i'm not, san."

"you know how worried i can get, right? wooyoung, if it's somethi–"

"i told you i'm fine. can we get back inside?" wooyoung snapped accidentally at the older. he muttered a sorry and walked away, hearing a heavy sigh from san.

no, he's not okay at all. he's in love with the oldest hyung in his group who only loved him as a family and he will never have a chance to tell him because this thing is very unusual to happen among idols. how is he supposed to go on living his life with this feeling in his chest and the thought of seonghwa taking over his mind?

the next few days weren't so great, either. wooyoung had been lost in his thoughts more than once. the least he could do was focusing on his schedules, thankfully. but his strange behavior didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group, especially yeosang and san. it was disturbing and worrisome. they had been the ones to notice those little details about wooyoung.

so they met once to talk about it, just the two of them. it was one late night and yeosang decided to go to san's shared room with mingi. "where are you going?" he heard wooyoung asked from his bed. yeosang turned his head at him, answering, "i'm going to get some water." he lied.

"oh, okay. i'm going to sleep first," wooyoung told him as he switched off the lamp. "goodnight, yeosang-ah."

"goodnight," yeosang said softly and left the room after closing the door quietly. he walked slowly towards san and mingi's room and knocked on it softly. a soft thud on the floor was heard from that room and then the door opened, revealing san in his sleeveless black shirt. "what is it?" asked.

"it's about wooyoung. come on, let's talk in the kitchen," yeosang suggested.

and in the kitchen, they went. yeosang cut straight to the chase and opened his mouth to say, "do you notice that wooyoung has been acting odd lately? he's not himself these days and it's making me worried."

san nodded and felt the same thing. "yeah, i noticed it too. and he wouldn't tell me if i ask him which is making me suspicious more." he sighed.

"if he goes on like that, it might affect his carriers and us too. he's hiding something, i'm sure of it."

"if he is... does the manager know about it but doesn't want to tell us? oh no, what if it's something so serious? what if he's really sick?" san started panicking, his hands covering his face as he heaved a heavy sigh.

yeosang shook his head while thinking. "no, if he's sick then he would tell us. this is something else. i can feel it." he said. san removed his hands from his face to retort back. however, he was cut off by another person that appeared at the entrance of the kitchen.

"what are you two doing still up? it's late."

it was seonghwa who usually made his rounds to make sure everyone is asleep and all. yeosang and san stood straight while looking at the oldest. the two glanced at each other as if they were communicating through the mind. they nodded at each other as they both had the same idea. seonghwa frowned at them but he was too tired to question, so he waited.

"hyung, we were talking." yeosang began. "it's about wooyoung."

seonghwa expected this and felt relieved that he's not the only one that noticed things about wooyoung. "what about him?"

"we think something is wrong with him, but we don't know what to do." san spoke this time.

seonghwa understood them. he too felt the same way as them about wooyoung. being the oldest, he was worried about him the most than yeosang and san combined, probably. he sighed and nodded at them. "sure, i'll see what i can do," he assured the two. 

**»»**

one night...

wooyoung had just finished playing games with yunho, yeosang, and san in the living room and he decided to stop early. he just went inside his room and yeosang and san gave each other a look. just then, mingi and seonghwa appeared in the living room as well but both of them had a different intention. mingi joined the three to play games as well while seonghwa was slowly making his way past the living room.

yeosang and san met eyes with the oldest who seemed to have a look that's asking where wooyoung is. yeosang nudged his head towards wooyoung's shared room with him. seonghwa nodded with a small smile and made his way to the closed door.

wooyoung had just changed his clothes to his pajamas outfit to prepare himself to go to bed. just then, he heard soft knocks at the door. "come in," he said after landing himself on his bed. he looked up at the door that's opening and revealed the last person he wanted to see that night.

"hey, wooyoung." seonghwa smiled at him, though he felt nervous because of his main reason for meeting the younger.

"oh, hyung." wooyoung was surprised and confused to see seonghwa in his room, but managed to return a smile. "do you need anything?"

seonghwa made his way to sit on the edge of wooyoung's bed. "no, i'm just here to check on you." he smiled, meeting wooyoung's eyes.

"what do you mean?" wooyoung asked while chuckling, playing dumb. seonghwa sighed and thought that he should just say it, so he spoke, "wooyoung, something is up with you and you're hiding something. yeosang and san are already worried sick about you. and i feel the same way."

wooyoung kept quiet. he knew he's not getting out of this that easy. he knew seonghwa would not leave this room without an answer. but he couldn't tell him that he has genuine feelings for him. he shouldn't. "i'm not hiding anything, hyung. can you please go now? i need to sleep. we do have a long day tomorrow." wooyoung pushed seonghwa away by saying that. he already laid on his side with his back facing seonghwa.

seonghwa felt irritated slightly. he knew so well that something is really going on but wooyoung wasn't being cooperative here. he moved to sit next to wooyoung who's already closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"listen here, wooyoung. i'm not leaving this room unless you tell me what's been bothering you. you know you can't keep it to yourself any longer. it'll affect the rest of us. do you want that?" seonghwa asked with a hint of strictness in his voice. he received a soft no from wooyoung then.

"then tell me, is there anything going on with you? if so, what is it?" he begged and kept his tone strict at the younger.

wooyoung thought deeply for a moment. he gave in with a sigh, knowing how serious seonghwa is about this. he turned around to face seonghwa and looked up at him. he inhaled before finally answering, "yes, something is going on. and no, i'm not okay at all." he admits.

seonghwa's face softened at wooyoung's honesty and he felt his heart ached to hear him saying this with a pained look written on his face visibly. "did it start on the night you opened your vlive?" he tried to connect the dots.

wooyoung just nodded simply. at least he'd let that out already. he suddenly felt a small burden being carried off of his shoulders. he watched seonghwa lay down beside himself and suddenly, he felt two long arms wrapping around his body. seonghwa was hugging him in comfort and wooyoung felt himself melt so effortlessly in his arms. it had made him forget about his racing heart and brought all his pain away for a second.

closing his eyes, wooyoung hugged seonghwa back and nuzzled his head on the older's chest. he decided he should enjoy this moment while it lasts. seonghwa always gave him the best hug that made him feel safe in his grasp.

"do you wanna talk about it?" seonghwa asked softly.

but that's the problem. wooyoung couldn't talk about it even if he wanted to. what is he supposed to talk about? confess his feelings for him? fuck no.

that would not only ruin his friendship with seonghwa, he would also lose his dignity. heck, it would be so humiliating if the other members know about this. would they understand this kind of thing? they must've felt disgusted with him because he liked someone of the same gender as him.

thinking all that now just made wooyoung's life more difficult. and before he could control himself, he was already crying because of the pressure he's getting. tears began to form in his eyes and fell down his cheeks, staining seonghwa's pajamas in advance.

seonghwa held wooyoung close to comfort him until he a soft sob. "wooyoung-ah," he called out lowly, looking down. he widened his eyes when his thought was correct. "are you... crying?" he felt his heart broke to pieces. wooyoung looked so small and fragile crying in his arms.

"shh, it's okay. i'm here..." seonghwa shushed wooyoung. his hand stroking his hair gently while the other rubbing small circles behind the younger's back to comfort him.

the two stayed like that for a few minutes but neither of them fell asleep yet. seonghwa was beginning to get more worried after witnessing wooyoung like this. furthermore, he felt like an awful hyung for not knowing about his condition sooner.

the room was silent now. seonghwa wiggled himself down so that he's eye-level with wooyoung who's eyes were puffy and his cheeks were wet. his tears stained the pillow. "do you feel better now?" seonghwa asked.

slowly, wooyoung nodded. "yeah, i guess..."

"so, wanna tell me why?"

wooyoung was quiet for a moment. he sighed and said, "i'm sorry, hyung. i can't tell you. at least, for now..."

that kind of offended seonghwa because he was expecting a yes. what is the reason for wooyoung to be this difficult to open up? "o-oh, sure, okay."

he looked into wooyoung's eyes and the other did the same. they held their gaze for a moment. their proximity was making wooyoung's mind go crazy as new fresh thoughts flashing in his head. thankfully, his thinking was disturbed when seonghwa opened his mouth to say something.

"you should go to sleep, wooyoung-ah. just... please come to me when you feel like talking about it. can you promise me that?"

"fine, i promise."

"pinky promise?"

wooyoung looked at seonghwa's hand with his pinky towards him. he sighed quietly, though he linked his pinky with the older nonetheless. "pinky promise."

the older smiled down at wooyoung as he removed his arms around him. wooyoung could've sworn he almost let out a whine at the loss of two strong arms that made him feel safe. he's going to miss that feeling of being hugged by seonghwa. but good things had to come to an end somehow.

"goodnight, wooyoung."

and not just cuddles.

"goodnight, hyung."

including other things involved with seonghwa...

**»»**

wooyoung knew he should forget about his feelings for seonghwa as soon as he realized it's getting out of hand. he didn't want it to become worse. everything about it was wrong.

so, he did what he thought was the right thing to do; he spent most of his time with other members and avoided seonghwa for a while. though, not in a rude way. he still respected him when needed and when they were on live shows, broadcasts, music shows, etc, he acted normal because the last thing he wanted was to get nagged by the oldest about manners and shits.

overall, it worked, wooyoung convinced himself that every time. however, every night before going to sleep, his insides would always be filled with guilt that's keeping him awake late at night. seonghwa didn't deserve this kind of service and wooyoung was being selfish. but there was no other way.

how he wished these feelings would go away as easy as it came.

to say that seonghwa is not offended even the slightest by wooyoung's sudden strange act towards him was an understatement. seonghwa wasn't that foolish to not notice these simple things. he realized that wooyoung had been ignoring him these days because

one; wooyoung always avoided having a conversation with seonghwa. when seonghwa talked to him, wooyoung would always reply with no less than two words. as if he's not even interested to talk to him.

and two; wooyoung often avoided his eyes whenever he's talking to him.

after the little heart-to-heart moment that night between seonghwa and wooyoung just to end up getting treat like this had confused seonghwa a lot. he felt frustrated and hurt by these actions. and what made it hurt him more was that wooyoung could act the total opposite whenever they were on live tv shows, etc.

seonghwa knew wooyoung is doing this on purpose and he'd like to know why.

after weeks of busy schedules, ateez were given two days off on the weekend and were allowed to do anything they pleased. saturday was the day where all of them just slept in. they all stayed in their bed, sound asleep and still in their dreams for hours after the sun was already up doing its job.

seonghwa woke up at 10 and glanced at the already empty bed next to him. as expected, hongjoong was already awake. probably in the studio working again. seonghwa made his bed before leaving his room to brush his teeth, wash his face, and take a shower. after that, he lazily made his way to the kitchen for his late breakfast.

turned out somebody else was already awakened and in the kitchen. seonghwa entered the kitchen and saw wooyoung making coffee for himself. "good morning, wooyoung-ah."

"morning, hyung." the other nodded but didn't spare a glance at the older.

seonghwa knew it's going to happen. wooyoung was avoiding him. "you're up quite early. did you sleep well?"

"no,"

seonghwa held back a heavy sigh at the attitude. he sat at the table and drank a glass full of water. if he's going to blow up at the younger for being like this, he might as well get hydrated first. "oh, what happened?"

"couldn't sleep."

"something kept you up all night?" seonghwa tried asking, though knowing so well how this will turn out.

"yeah."

"what is it–"

"why don't you mind your own business, hyung." wooyoung cut him off, causing seonghwa to widen his eyes in surprised, and then anger.

that's it. that's the last straw.

seonghwa slammed his fist on the table as he stood up in anger. "that's it, wooyoung. i've had enough of this bullshit." he made his way to where wooyoung was standing by the counter. wooyoung put down his cup and turned to suddenly face seonghwa who looked furious. his eyes widened for a split second.

"hyung, what are you doing?" wooyoung asked when seonghwa stood close to him to prevent him from running away.

"what's your problem, huh?"

"i don't understand what you're saying. now let me go–"

seonghwa gritted his teeth. "goddammit, wooyoung. stop playing dumb with me. you know well what i mean. you've been avoiding me for days on purpose like i did something awful to you and i deserve to know the fuck why."

wooyoung was determined to keep pushing seonghwa away, but felt like he's losing it. "you did nothing wrong, hyung. don't sweat it."

"then why are you ignoring me? since that night that you almost opened up to me, you've been shutting me out. and i'm not that stupid, wooyoung. so, stop making things so complicated and just tell me. why?" seonghwa raised his voice a bit but not too much because everyone was still asleep. wooyoung dropped his head to look at the floor, feeling ashamed of what he's about to say next.

he could already feel his heart was about to explode, his mind was getting cloudy, and he's out of breath already. wooyoung thought,

_i can't take this anymore._

"fine, you wanna know why?" he opened his mouth after a long silence.

_i need to let it out of my chest,_

"yes, tell me."

_that i love you more than i should._

"because of how perfect you are, hyung. and i've fallen hard for you."

seonghwa felt shocked but most of all confused at wooyoung's next words. he felt like he stopped breathing for a moment. his brain was trying to interpret that new piece of information in all the correct meanings for him to understand but still, he couldn't get it. or he didn't really want to understand what the younger meant. "w-what do you mean?"

"i'm in love with you, seonghwa-hyung."

wooyoung finally lifted his head to meet the older's widened eyes. he understood the expression on seonghwa's face and knew he would get rejected any second now. "you wanted to know, so there you go." his words were filled with disappointment but not because of seonghwa, but himself for hoping the opposite.

and with that, wooyoung left the kitchen and hurried back to his room after exiting the kitchen, scaring yeosang who's looking at his phone half asleep after the door slammed shut. "wooyoung, what the heck?" yeosang was ignored because wooyoung just went straight to their bathroom and locked himself there. he was panting and his heart hadn't stopped racing at the moment. 

"the fuck, wooyoung? why did you say that?"

he scolded himself for blurting out his love confession at seonghwa. which he thought about it and realized how plainly _stupid_ it is. "now he's gonna feel uncomfortable around me. i'm fucked up. my whole life is ruined. and all because of my stupid feelings."

wooyoung leaned back his head on the door and felt tears forming in his eyes.

for the rest of the week, wooyoung had been ignoring seonghwa at all cost. instead, he's been spending so much time with the others and kept himself busy. to say that seonghwa was not offended by this even the slightest was an understatement. he knew wooyoung was doing this on purpose, acting as nothing happened. it hurt his feelings because he too once had a crush on wooyoung. just a small one, not that serious.

but since wooyoung told him that he loves him? those feelings came back.

the warm feeling he would feel whenever he stares at the younger for a bit too long during or after practice or having thoughts about him every night before sleep. everything about him had started to drive seonghwa crazy again.

and he felt more than happy to know wooyoung is feeling the same for him.

**»»**

wooyoung was so mad at himself today. aside from his throbbing head the moment he woke up that morning, he also had to deal with his upset stomach.

but no, none of that were the reasons why wooyoung was angry. just thinking about the real cause of this painful feeling frustrated him. today seonghwa and san were having a vlive together and were cooking something. even though wooyoung trusted san with all his heart, seeing them two enjoying each other's company pained him.

yes, he's jealous.

so jealous that he hated himself for it.

and the worst thing was, wooyoung still joined their vlive using his own secret account just to watch what they're doing while at the same time, torture himself. so, there he was, on his bed underneath his covers with his phone in his hands, watching san and seonghwa's cooking show on vlive.

"why do i even bother? i can just turn this off and do something else," wooyoung murmured.

his eyes not leaving his phone screen at seonghwa and san who are standing close to each other near the stove, which wooyoung groaned because his heart was aching just looking at that— not that he was mad at them, he just wished he would be the one having some fun with seonghwa— and he couldn't after what happened. and it's his fault for that too so that kinda sucks.

"i should just leave this live..." wooyoung exited the vlive and put his phone aside on his bed.

though not even a minute went by he found himself grabbing his phone again and returning to the vlive. this time, seonghwa and san were laughing at a joke one of them made and looking at each other. "why can't he look at me like that..."

wooyoung shut his mouth immediately after realizing what he said. "shit, stop it. you're just feeling too lonely, wooyoung." he scolded himself and then groaned in frustration loudly, oblivious that his roommate, yeosang had entered the room. "god, i hate feelings!" he threw his phone away.

"what's gotten into you, wooyoung?"

wooyoung jumped on his bed, startled while yeosang made his way to his bed. "yah, you scared me... when did you come in?" he asked while crawling on his bed to retrieve back his phone that fell on the floor.

"just now. why are you being all jumpy all of a sudden? and don't throw your phone, it didn't do anything wrong to get treated like that." yeosang shook his head at wooyoung and landed on his bed. wooyoung frowned at him and replied, "i'm not being jumpy..." luckily, yeosang didn't ask any further and said, "by the way, seonghwa and san are making food in the kitchen for their vlive. you should drop by, it tastes so good. my stomach is full now." yeosang suggested with a satisfied sigh.

"really?" wooyoung didn't want to go because he had to face seonghwa, even though he's feeling hungry at the moment. "i'm not hungry. no thanks." he declined. but his stomach said otherwise as it growled, begging for food to fill it up.

yeosang sneered at him. "yeah, right..."

"shut up," wooyoung muttered, feeling embarrassed.

he knew he should eat and it's near dinnertime, anyway. so he left his room and slowly walked towards the dining table to inspect from afar. there was seonghwa who's busy cutting something on the board meanwhile san watching yunho and mingi eat. hongjoong just left the scene to go back to his room, probably continuing his work.

wooyoung inhaled and prepared himself to put on his 'act' since he'll be with seonghwa in front of their fans. then, he saw san looking up at him and a smile spread across his face. "wooyoung, come here and try some!" seonghwa looked up when he heard san calling wooyoung's name. the said male had a huge smile on his face, but seonghwa doubted it's real since he's there.

"yah, this is seriously good!" mingi was standing with yunho at the edge of the table. seonghwa watched wooyoung came to the table and stood next to san. "wow, did you two made all these?" he asked, amazed.

"seonghwa-hyung did most of it. oh, i made this one." san pointed at one of the dishes happily and wooyoung chuckled. "yeah, i knew it. last time i check you nearly set the house on fire." yunho and mingi who heard this laughed out loud while seonghwa held his own as he was cooking. san playfully punched wooyoung on his side who grinned widely. "did i lie, though?"

san joined them and the kitchen was filled with loud laughs from the five of them. "yah, you guys, be careful not to spill anything on anywhere." seonghwa warned when he saw yunho was holding the paper plate filled with food that's tilted to the side a bit.

after that, san may have said something that made mingi laughed louder and throwing his head back which then hit yunho's hand that's carrying the plate. it flipped and the content was spilled on yunho's white shirt. most of the excess food then fell on the floor.

"hey, mingi!" yunho yelled and all eyes were on him and at the spilled food. seonghwa widened his eyes. "yah!"

"hold on. you stay there, i'll take care of this." san stopped seonghwa who was about to leave the stove.

mingi left the scene, laughing at yunho who's rambling about how his second favorite shirt is dirty and that he just wear it that day. "do you need any help or something?" wooyoung asked after san left to grab something to clean the mess up.

"it's okay!" was san's answer.

"san, use the mop from the back! do you remember where i put it? it's somewhere in the storage!" seonghwa yelled to help.

there was a noise from where san went. and then san yelled back, "found it!"

wooyoung just laughed at this whole situation. the fact that everything became out of hand in front of their fans during their vlive just made it ten times better. now it's just wooyoung and seonghwa there, wooyoung making his way to read the comments and seonghwa who was busy at the stove still. "hi, lovely atinys! yes, this is a mess. everything is a mess right now." wooyoung was talking to their fans who were entertained judging by the comments they're leaving.

"wooyoung, come here and try some." seonghwa called the younger while stirring the content on the pan. wooyoung looked back, startled.

"oh, yeah, sure. i'm starving." wooyoung returned back and now stood next to the older. _okay, get it together, wooyoung!_

"what's that?"

seonghwa felt an arm on his shoulders. "i'm making us japchae."

he answered with a smile and then felt wooyoung put his chin on his shoulder from behind. his breath hitched after he turned his head to the side for a moment and noticed how close wooyoung is. he felt his heart racing all of a sudden and his stomach doing a flip. those warm feelings whenever he's with wooyoung had come attacking him.

"that looks delicious, hyung." wooyoung left his shoulder and scanned the food made by seonghwa and san on the table. "hmm, nice," he nodded after trying some of it.

"it is? good then."

seonghwa turned off the stove after stir-frying some veggies and poured it into a bowl with the glass noodles ready at the side. "you can eat some more. the others had some already." seonghwa motioned wooyoung to sit down as he continued making japchae.

san had returned with tissues and a mop to clean the mess. "where did yunho go? shouldn't he be the one cleaning that?" seonghwa asked san who answered, "pretty sure he's trying to remove the massive stain on his shirt with mingi. even though it wouldn't come off." he chuckled from the floor. after san's finished, he disappeared again, leaving wooyoung and seonghwa alone.

it was very awkward between them but neither of them wanted it to be visible to their fans since the vlive is still on. how considerate of them to not want to make their fans worry about them.

seonghwa watched wooyoung eat and felt a smile plastering on his face. "slow down, wooyoung. there's still a lot more." he chuckled and decided to sit down next to him, his hands still not over mixing up the japchae in the bowl. wooyoung just hummed at him but did as he was told.

"have you tasted these?" seonghwa lifted his head and looked at wooyoung who's pointing at the potato pancake. he shook his head no. "i'll try it later until i'm finished with these."

"here,"

seonghwa heard wooyoung said softly and turned his head again. wooyoung was holding a piece from the pancake using a chopstick to him. which he gladly accepted and chewed on the food. he hummed in satisfaction then. he missed spending time with wooyoung like this. but he knew wooyoung is just doing this because they are on vlive with atinys. and he ought to just play along.

"tasty, right?" wooyoung was staring up at him with his eyes twinkling. seonghwa froze at the sight for a moment, in awe, before nodding. "yes, it is."

he paused his hands from working. "oh, wooyoung, can you taste this for me? i just have to make sure." he had a small portion of the glass noddle in his hand towards wooyoung to feed him which he gladly ate from his hand. seonghwa waited and watched wooyoung chewing. he noticed how his brows frowned as he focused on the taste. funny how this little detail caught seonghwa's full attention to stare at him quietly. "so?"

"it's quite bland." wooyoung said. "really?" wooyoung nodded again at the older. "yeah, try it." and seonghwa did. "you're right. what should i add, sugar? or is it salt?" he was talking to himself but he felt eyes on him. and then a stifled laugh. he glanced at wooyoung and met his gaze. the younger was holding his laugh at him. "why are you looking at me like that? is there something on my face?" seonghwa asked. wooyoung nodded and pointed at a spot on his face. "it's on your cheek. geez, i didn't expect you to get messy, huh." the younger teased with a chuckle. seonghwa used his other hand to wipe it off. "is it still there?" he tilted his face for wooyoung to check on it.

"yes. hold on a second, let me use a tissue, here." wooyoung held his arm out to grab a tissue from across the table but he didn't give it to seonghwa, instead, he reached out to wipe seonghwa's cheek carefully. this action had caused seonghwa to widen his eyes because of how close wooyoung was leaning in. he felt his heart skip a beat. though his eyes never removed themselves to stare at the younger.

"there, it's gone now." wooyoung smiled and moved away from seonghwa's face, silently liking the reaction he got from the older after he did that. yes, it was intentional but he didn't know what told him to do that out of nowhere. maybe he just wanted to.

seonghwa turned his head back as quickly as possible to avoid himself from staring for too long. he felt himself blushing because of that and this did not go unseen by the fans in the vlive.

and it will forever remain a mystery to atinys.

**»»**

"okay, you're all going to start rehearsal now!"

the eight boys began dancing on the stage for rehearsal. everything was just going well for all of them. except for seonghwa. he's been losing focus because he'd always glance at wooyoung. a minute ago, he saw wooyoung's foot was about to slip on the floor while dancing. seonghwa too thought the floor was a bit slippery that particular day and now he's worried if something bad happens. he's worried about wooyoung.

but after seeing how wooyoung was being professional about it, it eased seonghwa's mind a little but the thought of a possible incident didn't leave his mind. he just had a bad feeling.

because it's always true.

"oof-!"

a yelp of pain came from none other than wooyoung who's now on the floor. everybody else stopped dancing then as they were surprised while seonghwa rushed to his side. "wooyoung, are you alright?" he watched wooyoung held his hands on his right ankle with a groan. by then, the other six members started to gather around the boy in pain.

"where does it hurt? is it here?" seonghwa pressed his hand on where he guessed wooyoung was hurting.

"ow ow ow ow!" and he was right.

seonghwa looked up to tell the rest, "i guess he sprained his ankle." he looked at hongjoong who had a worried expression on when he nodded.

"wait here, i'll ask the staff to see if we can take a break." hongjoong said and left. seonghwa then immediately aid wooyoung's ankle by taking off his shoe and his sock. meanwhile, the rest of the members took this chance to catch a breath and rest.

hongjoong came back then and told them they were allowed to take a break until wooyoung was fine to get back on his feet again. "you two should go to the waiting room at the back. we'll wait for you here." hongjoong said told seonghwa and wooyoung. seonghwa nodded and helped wooyoung to get stand back up.

"can you stand up?" seonghwa held both of wooyoung's arms and watched the younger stand on both feet. he received a low cry of pain in return. so he slung wooyoung's arm on his shoulder and walked towards the changing room with the shoe and sock in his other hand.

it was quiet after they arrived in the room. too quiet for wooyoung's liking considering it's just the two of them there. wooyoung watched seonghwa massage his ankle carefully. the air between them was still awkward. it became thicker that you could slice it like butter. "you still wear these shoes?" seonghwa said, breaking the silence. wooyoung gazed at his old shoes for a second. "i remember you saying the sole is getting worn out and it's a little dangerous for you to pick this one for our rehearsal, wooyoung-ah."

ah, he's always the one to care about small things. such a mom. "we were in a hurry and i was only able to grab this one. but i don't think the shoes are at fault, though," wooyoung explained shortly. they all were almost late that morning, true.

"i guess you're right. i too thought the floor is slippery today." seonghwa nodded. and then silence again but only for a minute until seonghwa spoke again, "try moving your foot." wooyoung did as he was told and twisted his foot gently. he felt no pain anymore.

"i feel fine now," he said with a nod.

"do you think you can continue dancing? if not then i can tell hongjoong." seonghwa looked for wooyoung's eyes that's hidden behind his hair and found them then. wooyoung stared back at seonghwa and saw concern in his eyes. he nodded slowly and averted his gaze, fearing he would get lost in those eyes. "yes, i think i can. thanks."

he was about to stand up and leave as soon as possible but seonghwa grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. they would be lying if they say they didn't feel something flutter in their stomach at the touch. seonghwa quickly removed his hand from wooyoung's and held it to fiddle with his fingers. "i think we should talk."

"t-talk?" wooyoung mentally hit himself for stuttering.

"yes, it's about time."

"there's nothing to talk about. we should go now, they're waiting for us." wooyoung simply told, and before seonghwa could say another word, wooyoung let go of seonghwa's hand which he wanted so bad to hold on a little more longer. the warmth made him feel at ease.

seonghwa sighed heavily at wooyoung's determination of pushing him away, but give up he would not.

**»»**

it was one late night and the whole group was sitting at the tables together, drinking beers. they didn't plan this out. it started first when wooyoung asked hongjoong's permission to have a drink after they're done with dinner. wooyoung gave an excuse that he's been stressed out and needed something to get his mind off things— what he meant was to get his mind off someone named park seonghwa— but he wouldn't want to let the leader know. luckily hongjoong approved without wooyoung having to beg him.

and then yeosang came to join him, followed by san who at first didn't think of having some but it looked so tempting, so he did. the three conversed with each other, just telling stories and gossiping and it became more lively. this caught yunho, mingi, and jongho's attention from the living room to stop playing fifa world cup and come join them. the noises from them chatting together became louder then, that it had woken up seonghwa from his nap.

seonghwa glanced at his alarm clock the first thing he woke up and it read midnight sharp. he looked for hongjoong who seemed focus on his laptop with his earphone on, probably watching a movie. he heard loud chatter from the kitchen. seonghwa didn't hesitate to go outside and tell them to go to bed since it's already quite late. all of them obeyed and wooyoung was the last to leave.

seonghwa took this chance and grabbed his arm. "not you, wooyoung." seonghwa said sternly. wooyoung huffed and looked up. "what now?" he asked.

"we have to talk whether you like it or not." seonghwa insisted, letting go of wooyoung's arm.

wooyoung sighed and turned to face seonghwa. "fine, i'll start first, then. i know i shouldn't have said what i said to you that day and have this kind of feeling. you can hate me and feel disgusted with me all you want but i understand you. even i too hate myself for it."

"wooyoung, stop–" seonghwa tried stopping wooyoung but he went on his ramble.

"i mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. we're idols for god's sake and people would be able to figure it out. god, what would atinys say? just forget it. you don't have to do anything about it and i'm not expecting any answers from you, either. and it's not my first time getting rejected but i can deal with this myself."

"i'm not rejecting you, wooyoung. i like you too."

"so, don't worry abou–" wooyoung paused finally.

_wait._

_wait wait wait._

_WHAT?_

"come again?"

seonghwa opened his mouth again to say, "i'm in love with you too."

_oh._

_OH._

_wow._

"really? you're serious?" wooyoung just wanted to make sure and after he received a nod from the older, he couldn't help himself to smile happily. his eyes filled with pure happiness.

seonghwa smiled back to see wooyoung smiling at him, because of him. "of course, i am serious, you brat. i once had a crush on you too. had you not tell me that you love me the other day, i'd forget my feeling for you completely. so, thank you." he brought up his hands to cup wooyoung's face then, lifting it up since wooyoung was shorter than him.

"and as for the public," seonghwa added, "we don't have to let them know. just let them be. let them assume things while we just stay quiet about it. it'll be our little secret."

"what about our members? i don't feel like i'm ready to tell them yet." wooyoung frowned and looked elsewhere. "hey..." seonghwa's soothing voice brought his eyes back up to meet his. "we'll tell them whenever you're ready, darling." wooyoung blushed madly at the nickname.

_god, that's so hot coming from him._

"okay, that sounds great to me." he smiled sweetly.

he stared into seonghwa's eyes. oh, he always loved those pretty eyes. is he kidding? everything about seonghwa is pretty. especially those lips that wooyoung would die for him to put it on his. "wait, you've had a crush on me before? since when? you should've told me earlier." wooyoung pouted, his eyes not breaking his gaze on seonghwa's.

seonghwa smiled at this, while tucking a strand of wooyoung's hair from his eyes. wooyoung blushed at this, his stomach doing all kinds of flips. "it doesn't matter anymore, right? you're here with me now." seonghwa inched his face closer and noticed wooyoung didn't back away— which is a good sign. their lips were just centimeters apart, both very eager to close the gap and dive in for each other's lips.

seonghwa whispered one last time before anything, "may i?"

wooyoung smiled softly at this. _asking permission to kiss someone? he's so freaking cute._

"yes, please."

they both closed their eyes and claimed each other's lips for the sweetest kiss they've ever felt, filled with both gentleness and cautiousness as if scared to spoil the beautiful moment. their lips fitted each other perfectly, like lock and key. it's a match, proving they both were made for each other. slowly, wooyoung moved his hand to make their way to seonghwa's neck while the other held seonghwa's hand that's carefully placed on his cheek. he didn't want this to end. he felt like he's in heaven right now while kissing seonghwa.

he smiled secretly behind the kiss. at least now he knew what seonghwa's lips feel like on his.

as much as both of them enjoyed the kiss, they needed to break them to breathe some air into their almost forgotten lungs. they stared at each other while panting. wooyoung loved how soft and sweet the kiss was but he suddenly felt like wanting more. and as if reading his mind, seonghwa moved closer again. wooyoung wasted no time and pulled him down for another kiss, this time with a little more force on it. seonghwa had tilted his head to deepen it, making it ten times the hotter. wooyoung moved to wrap his arms around seonghwa's neck, while seonghwa brought down his hands to grip wooyoung's hips, pulling him closer.

it was deadly quiet, with all the members sound asleep in their rooms. and the only source of light was from the kitchen, shining above to males in their fantasy. no sound was made, yet. until a faint moan was heard, coming from wooyoung himself. seonghwa had bitten wooyoung's bottom lip who moaned in return, opening his mouth to give the older what he needed. seonghwa licked the spot he's bitten and entered his tongue into wooyoung's mouth ever so gradually to relish every single corner.

this made wooyoung impatient as he let out another low moan. seonghwa smirked but figured he should satisfy the younger's need. soon enough, he explored wooyoung's mouth hungrily like prey that hadn't eaten for days. he noticed how shy wooyoung's tongue had been to join in the battle. seonghwa slipped his thumb under wooyoung's shirt and graced it on his skin to tell him that it's okay.

wooyoung understood this and carefully moved his tongue alongside with seonghwa's. their kiss had turned into a more heated one because of that, causing their stomachs to bubble with both excitement and a craving for _more._ wooyoung felt his head getting heavy at this overwhelming feeling. it's too much for him, though not in a bad way.

after what felt like hours, they broke the kiss again and were panting very hard for air. they landed their foreheads on each other, never breaking their stare. wooyoung scanned seonghwa who was looking down at him with hooded eyes. "hyung, i've always known how dangerous your tongue can be during our performances but holy fuck, that was something beyond my imagination." wooyoung spoke after catching enough breath to do so.

seonghwa showed a smirk at the younger. "trust me, you have more coming your way in the future."

wooyoung's face turned a dark red at the dirty thoughts flashing in his mind. dangerously dirty thoughts. he can't blame himself for it. after a hot make-out session with the handsome and gorgeous park seonghwa, it would surely make anyone hard. however, as much as wooyoung wanted it to happen, wanted seonghwa to do anything to his body to his liking, he felt sleepy and tired already.

his brain sent a signal for wooyoung to yawn at the thought of sleeping, saying that it's goddamn time to sleep. seonghwa cooed at this. all his need to make wooyoung feel good that night were vanished and replaced with the feeling to cuddle the younger in his arms and shower him with sweet kisses.

"right, it's very late now, wooyoungie. we should definitely go to bed." seonghwa patted wooyoung's head and held his hand. "let's go." he led wooyoung to his shared room with yeosang but the younger made no move to get inside. seonghwa stared at him, confused.

"what's the matter?" he whispered lowly.

wooyoung pouted and answered, "can't i sleep with you?"

seonghwa raised his brows at him. "you want to sleep with me?" wooyoung nodded and said, "i want to cuddle with you. just you, hyung. can i?" he fiddled with the hem of his shirt, hoping his wish that night would come true.

seonghwa softened at wooyoung's request. "of course, sweetie. we'll sleep in the guest room, okay? nobody can disturb us, then." he suggested and wooyoung's face lit up with a smile. wooyoung nodded and then was led by the older towards their guest room in the house.

the room thats have been useless since they all moved here now served its new purpose.

they entered the room and seonghwa closed the door quietly. the room wasn't that small but comfortable enough for anyone to stay there. the room only had a drawer, a small desk, and a queen-sized bed. wooyoung had landed on the bed first and was followed by seonghwa. they went under the mattress and laid close together. wooyoung had his arms tightly wrapped around seonghwa and had snuggled his head at the crook of seonghwa's neck. seonghwa rested his chin above him, bringing his arms to secure wooyoung's frail body.

they stayed like that for a few minutes with just the sound of their own low breathing filling the room. "hyung," wooyoung's voice sounded sleepy at the moment.

seonghwa just hummed in response. "what are we now?"

"what do you suggest?"

wooyoung thought for a moment. "boyfriends?" seonghwa nodded with a smile. he liked it. "sounds about right." they both closed their eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

**»»**

the alarm clock rang, creating loud blaring noises in the room. the sun was already up, shining its ray into the room with one empty bed and another laid a man curled into a ball. a grunt was heard from the now awakened man. he fluttered his eyes open for a moment and didn't see the alarm clock on his bedside drawer. so it must've been on his roommate's.

"seonghwa, turn it off," hongjoong groaned out loud. though he received no answers.

"seonghwa?" he opened his eyes again, fully awake now, and turned on his other side just to see a perfectly made bed next to him. "what– he's up already? but it's still so early." hongjoong swung his feet from his bed to stand on the floor and made his way to shut the alarm clock up.

after he had brushed his teeth, he left his room, expecting seonghwa to be in the kitchen making coffee but to no avail, it was empty. hongjoong frowned in confusion. "that's odd. he's not here. then where else he could be?"

then he had a feeling.

hongjoong exited the kitchen and made his way towards the only empty room in the house. the door wasn't locked, so hongjoong twisted the doorknob quietly and stuck his inside the room. he wasn't surprised to see seonghwa sleeping there, no. he was taken aback to see another person sleeping there. hongjoong decided to go inside and stood at the foot of the bed.

he blinked once.

and again.

he stared in front of him with his mouth opened a little, forming an 'o'. "ah, i knew it." he smirked and left the room as quiet as he did when he came in, making sure not to wake up the sleeping pair. later, one by one, the members woke up to get ready for that day's schedule. though, it's still very early since their schedule would start at 11 in the morning and it's now 8. surprisingly, the sleeping 'pair' was yet to wake up.

"good morning, everyone,"

san had greeted as soon as he entered the kitchen to see all of his other members were (minus two). mingi followed behind him, stretching his arm into the air and caused his shirt to lift a bit, exposing his skin.

there were hongjoong, yunho, and jongho already sitting at the table, eating breakfast. mingi and san sat down and joined them after grabbing their coffee. "just another boring day..." yunho sighed heavily after he sipped on his warm coffee. "right, probably gonna be the same like any other day." mingi nodded in agreement. meanwhile, hongjoong smiled knowingly at this.

ah, yes. they didn't know about it yet.

hongjoong saw jongho looking around him as if searching for a missing person. "i haven't seen seonghwa-hyung yet. is he still sleeping?" the youngest wondered.

"shouldn't he be up already? there's no way he's sleeping in." yunho said this time and they all turned to look at their leader who seemed unfazed at this strange occurrence. hongjoong stared at each of them and nodded then. "it seems like he is." he said simply.

and then came in a sleepy yeosang into the kitchen who got his eyes scanning around the table. he was looking for his missing roommate. "morning, yeosang." san greeted with a small smile, catching yeosang's attention. "oh, morning. by the way, have you seen wooyoung anywhere? i doubt that he slept in our room since his bed is still perfectly made and untouched." he asked after taking a seat next to jongho.

all but hongjoong looked up at yeosang with curious eyes. mingi spoke, "what do you mean by that?"

"i don't know. he's just not there when i woke up just now." yeosang shrugged and gulped down the plain water.

"well, i didn't see him earlier. it was just us," jongho said, shrugging as well. and then he got an idea. he turned to look at the leader who's calmly looking at his phone at their schedule that day. "hyung, where is seonghwa-hyung sleeping, actually?" he asked. hongjoong looked up again, seeing all eyes were on him. before he could say something, he saw two figures walking past by the kitchen, one went to his room and another went to yeosang's room. the rest of them followed hongjoong's gaze, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"did they just come from the guest room? together?" mingi questioned. "they did..." san nodded, his eyes squinting at the closed door of yeosang and wooyoung's room, suspecting something. hongjoong chuckled lowly behind his phone and shook his head. he caught the other's attention again because of that. 

yeosang asked, "why are you laughing?" 

hongjoong just shook his head, but the smirk never left his face. seonghwa and wooyoung came and joined them to sit at the table across each other. "good morning, guys." wooyoung was the one to greet them first and seonghwa muttered the same thing. they all greeted back with a nod while holding back themselves to ask about what they saw earlier. hongjoong stood up with his empty cup with a wide smirk still plastered on his face. 

never he knew he'd be dealing with something like this.

yet again, he has yet to experience something more bizarre in the future.

_**the end** _


End file.
